In the morning of September 5th, 2017, the Propaganda Department of Jingmen Municipal Committee and Jingmen New Materials Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to GEM (Jingmen)) have co-hosted the open day of  ‘run business open to the public, prevent violations, avoid troubling residents, declare war to pollution’. Ou Xiaoping, the Vice-Minister of Propaganda Department of Jingmen Municipal Committee, Fu Zhenghong Deputy Director of Jingmen Environmental Protection Agency, Xinmin Li, Vice-President of China’s National Circular Economic Association, Yanhui Zhang, Deputy Secretary General of China’s National Resource Recycling Association, and journalists from People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Environmental News, China Securities Journal, National Business Day, Hubei Daily, Hubei Satellite TV, Hubei Voice, Jingmen Daily, Jingmen TV, Jingmen Evening, Jingmen News Network, Dachu Jingmen, Jingmen Community, Jingmen Cloud, Jingchu Jingmen Network, social environmental supervisors and residents nearby attended the activity, which was hosted by Zou Runian, Deputy District Mayor of High-tech District and Duodao District.

Before the activity began, Zhang Yunhe, Dean of GEM Waste Recovery and New Energy Materials Research Academy showed them around GEM’s ‘Urban Mining’ museum, National Electronic Waste Recycling Engineering & Technology Research Center, Environmental Management and Control Center, Electronic Waste Management Production Line, Ternary Power Battery Materials Manufacturing Center, Waste Water Management Station, Waste Battery Pre-Treatment Workshop, Raw Material Manufacturing Center, Water Recycling System, etc..At the same time, audiences witnessed the dismantling of the coal fired chimney.

After the visit, Lu Xijin, GEM Group Deputy Manager, disclosed GEM’s environmental management report to the public, declaring that GEM (Jingmen) had reviewed of public’s complaints and requests, admitted the facts and shortcomings, promised to take the responsibilities, actively correct the mistakes, shutdown the outdated facilities, enhance the environmental protection level and operate the factory open to public. GEM would also disclose environmental information and accept the supervision from the public as a way to demonstrate our courage and determination in environmental protection.

Representative of social environmental supervisors and residents representatives, on behalf of the public, gave speeches on their individual experiences about GEM’s environmental management and the improvement of surrounding environment condition. Li Xinmin and Zhang Yanhui also gave speeches on GEM’s positive contributions to circular economy technology, respectively.

Xinmin Li commented that GEM is the leading enterprise, which has the internationally first-class technologies in waste recycling field. It is the benchmark enterprise in national circular economy. GEM has built the first small-sized battery recycling factory in scale, becoming the international leading enterprise in waste battery management. GEM has also developed the earliest automatic e-waste sustainable treatment product line, which plays an important role in leading China’s e-waste industry to be industrial, sustainable and informative. As a model in China’s circular economy, GEM’s has led the circular economy industry towards standardized, healthy and sustainable development.

Zhang Yanhui commented that we have investigated a number of domestic and overseas advanced waste management factories. To be frankly, GEM processes advanced waste management technologies; including e-waste recycling technologies, waste battery recycling technologies and ternary battery materials technologies. Therefore, in the summary of the National Circular Economy Development Advanced Cases, GEM was concluded as a technologically innovative resource recycling enterprise.

The way toward effective, clean and safe utilization of waste is challenging which needs a number of enterprises’ efforts and exploration, as well as large amount of capital, technologies and human forces. Thanks to the enterprises (i.e. GEM) who have worked hard and practice innovations, recycling technologies of Chinese companies have been internationally advanced. GEM’s corporate social responsibility report completely discloses environmental information and accept social supervision, which is the progress of both renewable resources industry and Chinese environmental protection industry.

In the question and answer session, the press asked questions such as: the detail of GEM’s environmental protection system, how to treat residents’ complaints and the future environmental protection programme. Nu Xijin, Group Deputy Manager, Ouyang Mingzhi, Group Deputy Manager, Huang Mao, Group Environmental Management Specialist, Liu Tao, Deputy Manager of GEM (Jingmen), officials of Jingmen Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau and Social Environmental Protection Supervisor answered the questions raised one by one. They have also promised to review public’s complaints and requests properly, admit the facts and shortcomings, take the responsibilities, actively correct the mistakes, shutdown the outdated facilities, enhance the environmental protection level, enhance the environmental management leve and continuously develop environmental management facilities. In the next 3 years, GEM will spend 500 million to build a smokeless, smelless and harmless recycling plant, keep the promise to General Secretary Xi Jinping ‘Turn waste into treasure and transform the nothing into something’. In addition, GEM would insist in running the factory open to public, undertaking environmental protection in public, completely disclosing environmental information, volunteering accepting supervision from the society and making consistent efforts on environmental protection.

In the end of the open day, more than 1000 staff made a pledge: run the factory open to the public, prevent violations, avoid troubling residents and declare war to pollution to build a world advanced smokeless, smelless harmless and intelligent recycling factory!

Figure 1  Representatives visited the electronic waste treatment workshop

Figure 2  Nu Xijin, Group Deputy Manager, disclosed GEM (Jingmen) environmental management report

Figure 3  Social environmental supervisor gave a speech

Figure 4  Representative of the residents delivered a speech

Figure 5  Zhang Yan, Deputy Secretary-General of China National Resources Recycling Association, delivered a speech

Figure 6  Li Xinmin, Vice-President of China’s National Circular Economic Association

Figure 7  Question and answer session

Figure 8  More than 1000 staff were making a pledge

Figure 9  Dismantling of a coal-fired chimney